Resurrections, Bad Blood and Big Mouths
by MondayGirl
Summary: While helping civilians during an attack by Dr Doom Steve finds a lost boy whose black hair and blue eyes seem strangely familiar.


Doom bots, Steve decided were, in fact, the devil. He dodged another projectile and spun around slamming his shield into a bot that came at him from behind. Why Doom was launching an attack in Poland - especially when it was so close to his own Latveria - was unclear. They had only heard about the attack because Natasha had been on a mission nearby and had alerted the rest of the team. it wasn't long before the Fantastic Four appeared and began taking over the fight. Steve didn't appreciate being ordered to leave the remaining bots to them but he was relieved to have a chance to see to the civilians caught up in the mess caused by Doom and his ego. He checked the positions of his team mates before heading into the nearby tenement that people were still fleeing. His Polish was rusty but serviceable enough to tell people to make their way towards the local school which Natasha and Clint were currently securing. He helped an old lady down the crumbling concrete stairs and reunited a crying toddler and his frantic mother while making his way through the dilapidated building. He called out in Polish for any stragglers. Finally on the top floor he was about to make his way out to rejoin the fight and dispatch the last of the bots when he heard a window smashing and the unmistakable sound of a grunt of surprise. He didn't need to bust the door in as the lock was apparently already broken. The bot that he assumed had come through the window was on the floor smoking, a boy stood above it breathing hard with a gash on his forehead bleeding into his eyes. A quick look around the squalid room made it obvious to Steve that this was a squat of some sort, explaining the broken lock. Tearing his gaze from the sagged and soiled mattresses and ratty blankets Steve turned his attention to the boy before him. He swiped at the now heavily flowing blood in his eyes making a frustrated sound as his efforts were unsuccessful. The boy was thin and pale, Steve guessed that the bot had already been damaged and the boy had broken it down in a fluke. He smiled at the boy and spoke in what he hoped was a calming tone asking him if he was ok and his name. The boy looked his way for the first time but gave no response, Steve tried again speaking more slowly, with still no response other than the boy slowly backing up, getting dangerously close to the hole that had been a window. He tried German on the off chance the boy spoke it then again in English. That seemed to grab the kid's attention a little but he still gave no verbal response. Steve was getting more worried about the amount of blood still gushing from the boys head, he reached for the kid hoping to guide him towards the jet where Bruce waited with the medical supplies. The team had decided en route that Bruce should stay in human form until it was known whether Hulk was needed or not. The town was small and with the destruction already caused by Doom, Bruce was reluctant to let Hulk free.

The boy jerked back violently going into a defensive stance, through the blood he squinted at Steve as if trying to determine his threat level. There was something in that gaze that told Steve that something was not quite right with this kid, he hoped it was just shock and not some sort of brain damage from the head injury. He softened his tone further and held his hands up in a placating manner. "Hey, it's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you kid. Come on lets go get that cut seen to." After a few minutes the boy slowly stood straight again and took a couple of shuffling steps towards him. Steve smiled reassuringly and gestured for him to follow, he was careful not to try to touch the boy again. It took him awhile to finally heard the boy from the building, luckily the fighting had practically ceased as they exited. Steve kept a close eye on the boy as they made their way towards the jet, he skirted the local emergency response teams. He wanted to make sure the kid was taken care of properly, something about him seemed familiar somehow.

Bruce grabbed the jet med kit as soon as he saw Steve approaching with a kid, the boy's face was covered in blood and the neck of his ratty shirt was stained dark with it. He was unsure whether they were supposed to allows civilians on the jet but he couldn't see the harm in this one boy. He could just patch him up then send him on his way. His family were probably worried sick about him. Between himself and Steve it took them at least ten minutes to convince the kid to first enter the jet and then to stay there long enough for Bruce to access the damage done to him. Apart from a largely superficial cut to his forehead which was patched up with one of Tony's _hilarious _additions to the med kit in the form of a Captain America bandaid, the boy was unharmed the only bruises he sported seemed old and he walked with a slight limp. But no way was Bruce trying to get this boy undressed to take a look at the cause of it. While cleaning the boy up it became apparent that something was not quite right with him. But Bruce was no expert in developmental disorders or brain damage, as he had to keep reminding Tony he was not that kind of doctor.

Steve sat beside the boy as Bruce gently cleaned the blood from his face and applied the ridiculous bandaid with an apologetic look his way. After an initial struggle the boy seemed to become calmer as Bruce talked soothingly to him explaining everything he did as he worked. When he was finished Bruce smiled reassuringly at the boy before motioning for Steve to join a little away from the seats they had used as a treatment area. He spoke in a low tone, "he's basically okay, a little blood loss and definitely a concussion aside from that there's some obvious malnutrition and, well, does he seem a little...?" Bruce pursed his lips obviously searching for a word and Steve realised what he was getting at. "You think he's retarded? Or slow? Because..." He trailed off at the look on Bruce's face. He'd done it again. He gave a sheepish look to the doctor who smiled back understanding. "It's ok Steve, we tend to use the term learning difficulties or cognitive impairment now." Steve nodded, this was why he liked Bruce the man was able to correct him without talking down to him or making him feel like a complete schmuck. "Right, thanks. I think he understands English, I tried a couple of languages and that was the only one he really responded to. I noticed the scars around his wrists, looks like he's been tied up for quite a while at some point. I thought maybe he'd been trafficked or something. From Britain maybe or possibly America. I heard about a guy in Germany from a SHIELD agent who is suspected to be up to something involving child trafficking." Bruce nodded gravely a greenish tinge coloured his eyes briefly before he spoke. "Should we hand him over to the local authorities?" Steve looked back at the boy, again feeling that he had seen him somewhere before. A missing person poster perhaps? He wasn't sure but he did know that he didn't feel comfortable just leaving the boy here. "No, I think we should bring him with us. We can probably find out who he is quicker than the cops here. And if he is an American he'd be coming home anyway. If not we can always return him to his home." Bruce agreed as if he hadn't expected any different.

There was a whooshing sound and a loud thump outside the jet followed by the sound of laughter, The others had returned.

Tony was the first to enter complaining loudly, "Of course that's why Doom's acting up! That's why everyone who likes to fuck with the Fantastic Four do anything, they all want to bang Sue Storm. Not that I can blame them but it's getting pretty ridiculous now." He caught sight of the boy "Oh who's this? Taking in strays Cap? I thought that was Barton's thing."


End file.
